Hotovely: Coalition Deal Gives Kadima Zero Power

MK Tzipi Hotovely (Likud) waded into the fray over Tuesday's surprise coalition deal saying it would only serve to strengthen the Likud.

The deal "brings Kadima into the coalition with zero political power while maximizing the power of the Likud," Hotovely said, noting Kadima was only given the chair of a handful of Knesset committees in the deal.

"We now have a good opportunity to hone several key positions of the right wing," she added.

Hotovely also indicated that nationalist ministers and lawmakers intend to pursue a legislative override of a Supreme Court ruling that five homes in Beit El's Ulpana neighborhood must be destroyed.

"We have to produce a law not only to legalize the Ulpana neighborhood, but all of those places where there is a problem," she said.

She also praised the coalition deal as a means to fufill a major tenet of Religious Zionism by replacing the Tal Law.

"Military service is the cornerstone of religious Zionism," Hotovely said. "We believe that service in the army is a Divine commandment, not just a necessary duty to the state."

Hotovely also dismissed concerns that bringing Shaul Mofaz into the Cabinet posed a threat to the Likud's belief in Greater Israel, despite his having said he would give 100% of Judea and Samaria to the Palestinian Authority.

"I do not think there is a citizen in Israel who believes Mofaz," she said. "We must remember that this government has never made any formal political concessions in this regard.

"Yes, there was the construction freeze, but we must remember that this Prime Minister opposes unilateral withdrawal and we do not see a danger to our communities in Judea and Samaria.

"I have no doubt that Kadima will come to an end as a party, one way or another, despite the deal it made today," she added.